Tell me about the dark days

[molly jabali]

Claudius!!!!! Forgot about him!!!

The darkest day in Shocker history was ANY day that Reggie got playing time...nice kid, AVERAGE high school player...

[Rosewood]

This whole thread is a total downer.:)

I disagree. It is great to look back from a high point to see the valleys you came from. It is what makes the view from Pike's Peak so epic. (Except right now - http://www.springsgov.com/units/pike...mages/east.jpg )

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

To this day I still shoot free throws like claudius johnson

No bouncing and just as flat.

[BOBB]

I always respected Craig Stevens as a player because he tried so hard, but was limited by possessing no visible basketball skills. He was allowed to be a walkon because bodies were needed for practices. I don't think he would have even had an offer from a bad NAIA team. J.R. Simon is polished and skilled, compared to what Craaig was able to bring to the game.

The team was so thin in those years that Craig ended up starting games as a walkon Fr PG. Today, we have "invited" walkons. In the dark days, we had "begged" walkons.

Craig ended up starting games all 4 years he was here. Craig was not a walkon like Adam Emmenecker (all-Valley PG from Drake), or Ron Bakler, or Jake Odum. If not for the lack of depth and injuries, he would have been a walkon that ABSOLUTELY NO ONE would remember two years after he graduated. That's what we had for a backup and sometimes starting PG for 4 years.

I don't blame Craig. He just wanted to help the team out by giving them someone to practice against, which was needed. He didn't ask to be an on-court contributor. He didn't expect to be an on-court contributor, but he was forced into attempting that by the lack of recruiting ability of the staff. When there was no one left who could play his position, he gave it his best, and I thought he was actually inspirational for trying as hard as he did to overcome his lack of recognizable D1 skills. His main deficiencies were shooting, passing, and handling the ball, but he really tried hard.

This is spot on about Craig. His play was representative of how bad the program was. He was often our best option and he was a walk on. His skill as a broadcaster he can own, but I appreciate his work during a tough time.

[Dan]

Michael Wiggins being forced to play 30 mpg with a broken arm for half a season because we literally had no other bench options was a real treat.

It was Larry Callis that played with the cast, and later Darren Miller also did. It was hilarious that not only was Miller wearing a cast, but he was a center and shooting 3's with it.

[Shoxthemonkey]

Thanks for the memories, most are the way I remember them and that's saying something. My strongest recollection of the Cohen years was the complete lack of offense. It was a rare game that didn't include a 7-10 minute scoreless spell. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I quit caring much about the program through the period after Gene was fired. I stood next to Randy at a urinal at the Juco tournament in Hutch right after he was hired. We chatted for awhile and he was really excited about the chance to coach the Shocks. I was always surprised that it didn't work out for him. Without the internet and living 75 miles away, it was a lot harder for me to keep up with what was going on with him and the team.

[Play Angry]

It was Larry Callis that played with the cast, and later Darren Miller also did. It was hilarious that not only was Miller wearing a cast, but he was a center and shooting 3's with it.

My memory could be way off, but I was pretty sure Wiggins had a cast for a dozen or so games back in 91-92. I remember watching him try to grab one-armed rebounds and thinking, man, how do we really not have another guy over 6'4" who is (a) eligible, (b) out of jail, and (c) able to rebound better than a guy with one arm. Also remember Carter Arnett playing with a broken wing in addition to Callis and Miller.

What a decade.

[AZ Shocker]

Everything that has been said so far is pretty much describing the truths regarding the "Dark Dayz". Lol

I'll add one more ingredient that has also contributed to it. The separation via tv contracts (mainly ESPN) that created the BCS brand. Wichita St. unfortunently was NOT in a position to catch on during the "Dark Dayz" by shopping around for a better conference to springboard into a national tv viewing audience (ala Louisville, Memphis, etc.) The timing just didn't work for us. The program has always had the potential to do just that...but damn...lack of seeing the writing on the wall regarding college athletics into the future and simply settling...put us back 20 years.

Thankfully good...if not GREAT leadership came on board and finally got what the University and people of Wichita WANTED. A new (renovated) arena, MT and Jim Schaus...and ultimately Gregg Marshall!!! The university has now positioned itself with the basketball program to make that leap from the Missouri Valley and move to a higher "perceived" conference. The extra dollars from a more financial revenue stream (tv, etc.) will be needed to keep Gregg Marshall and/or find another "Gregg Marshall" should he leave some day. Coach Marshall will be offered twice as much as he is getting paid this year by other big programs. If not this year...he will be talked about being in the $3.5 million a year contract sooner rather than later.

Wichita St. pays GREAT....but another conference and tv revenue would get that salary to where the "market" that Coach Marshall will command. Notice I didn't say what Coach Marshall himself will command. Rather the "market" will. Final Four, UNDEFEATED SEASON, and increasing the WIN TOTAL every year definitely garners the attention of schools with BIG tv contracts to offer him 3-4 million a year.

Having said all that....this ride the past 4-5 years has been the BOMB!!!! Let's continue our growth to insure future seasons will be just as FUN!!! Wichita DESERVES THIS!!!! Your support and love for the Shockers is just too good to not be in the Top-25 for decades to come!!!! It's high-time to put the HARD-PRESS on the AAC, Big-East or Mountain West to let us IN!!!!!!!!!

[Shocktoberfest]

Hey, the abyss of the 90s touches all facets of the fan experience. Remember when Cohen let a player sing the national anthem? Holy crap! That was awful. I felt for him. Who was the player?

[Dan]

Hey, the abyss of the 90s touches all facets of the fan experience. Remember when Cohen let a player sing the national anthem? Holy crap! That was awful. I felt for him. Who was the player?

Another Wiggins moment. He was a man with many gifts.

[OregonShocker]

The story starts with the suspension of Ozell Jones, the center for WSU in the good days. Recruiting violations (brought on by KU bitter over G. Dreiling's recruitment, perhaps?) led to Gene Smithson's firing in an attempt to show NCAA that we were cleaning up our act and avoid more serious problems. Fogler was a good hire, but he admits that his biggest recruiting decision while at NC was which direction to turn out of the driveway in the mornings. Paul Gruffovich (sp) was his lucky get; after that class, things dropped due to his inability to recruit for WSU using NC techniques. He started to show some coaching flaws, however, before that(BARELY able to beat a 4-man team when a fight led to the rest of the opponent's bench being ejected). fogler left for Vandy; Cohen's hire, at Fogler's request, was the REAL start of the downward spiral. No recruiting ability, little coaching ability, but LOTS of emotion. Only big win was against Alabama? (is that right? like, #2 at the time) at the roundhouse. Cohen fired; Thompson hired as an up and coming coach. Roll of that dice came up craps; Smithson was making a name for himself as a successful JuCo coach (Butler? Hutch? can't remember which). Was a former Shocker from the glory days; thus, lots of pining to hire him (over Steve Eck; successful coach with no college experience). Smithson DID get Maurice Evans, big time recruit from Wichita; KU got pi$$ed and another investigation led to finding of practice time violations. Evans transferred to Tx; combo of violations and lack of success and disgruntled players led to Smithson's firing and Turgeon's hiring. The rest you know...

[Aargh]

After a trip to a tournament where the Shockers performed miserably, a player (who shall remain unnamed) was asked, "How was the trip"? He replied, "It was great. I ****** an Arizona State cheerleader".

[OregonShocker]

Oh, yeah... Cohen's emotions led to his crying when announced as head coach and his once jumping up in excitement and tearing his ACL

[OregonShocker]

To this day I still shoot free throws like claudius johnson

No bouncing and just as flat.

At least you don't shoot FT's like Henry Carr...

[1972Shocker]

Near the end of the pre-Roundhouse Renaissance years I don't recall peeing in a trough. There were rows of tall porcelain urinals with the drains at floor level (albeit well below ground level). Towards the end their was some kind of gray slime backing up out of some of the urinals at the far end of the restroom I usually frequented. Not sure how may upchuck episodes that triggered. The solution, however, was that the just closed those urinals off buy building a Masonite cover over them, which maybe was the best solution. Bottom line it was gross.

I still maintain that the Roundhouse Renaissance was the most important factor in getting our athletic program heading in the right direction making it possible not only to attract quality coaches but providing those coaches with a real jewel to show off to recruits. Let's hope we have learned our lesson. As @PlayAngry: stated our program was beyond flat broke back then and it took us a decade + to dig out of the financial hole create by our under-supported and under-funded football program.